There are butterflies in the desert. They are bright orange-brown with intricate black striping, their fluttering wings stark against the dusty green desert shrubbery. They flit among the myriad flowering shrubs that wrap the sandy landscape in a dense coat of green. Pink-flowered vines drape over towering cacti, flanked by ground-dwelling white blooms and stunted trees that look much like Mother Nature’s attempt at starting a bonsai garden. Here and there, a white-bellied bird perches on a branch, possibly waiting for its fluttering prey to pass by. Yet more birds circle, silhouetted against the cloudless blue sky. And just over the horizon, a glimmer of blue. The incongruity of being between desert and sea isn’t lost on me, despite my jet lag—if anything, the absurd beauty of the landscape is what keeps me awake.
We are guests of renowned Swiss watchmaker Rolex, who has shipped us journalists from our various shores all the way to Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Right now, we are on our way to Cabo Pulmo, a national marine park near the tip of the peninsula. Our presence here isn’t to visit some far-flung manufacture or on-site exhibition. It is to pay a visit to a singularly extraordinary individual, who has worked with and live-tested Rolex’s watches for the better part of five decades. She is neither a watchmaker nor, I suspect, a horology enthusiast, but her connection to and preference for Rolex’s watches are undeniable.
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